Horizon Report > 2013 Higher Education EditionNMC

The NMC Horizon Report is an unbiased source of information that helps education leaders, trustees, policy makers, and others easily understand the impact of key emerging technologies on education, and when they are likely to enter mainstream use.

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Executive Summary 3

Key Trends 7

Significant Challenges 9

Time-to-Adoption Horizon: One Year or Less> Massively Open Online Courses 11> Tablet Computing 15

Time-to-Adoption Horizon: Two to Three Years > Games and Gamification 20> Learning Analytics 24

Time-to-Adoption Horizon: Four to Five Years> 3D Printing 28> Wearable Technology 32

The NMC Horizon Project 36

Methodology 38

The NMC Horizon Project: 2013 Higher Education Edition Advisory Board 40

Contents >Clickonatopicorpagenumbertojumptothatpage.

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The research behind the NMC Horizon Report: 2013 Higher Education

Edition is jointlyconductedbytheNewMediaConsortium(NMC)and

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theNMC,visitwww.nmc.org.

©2013,TheNewMediaConsortium.

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Citation

Johnson,L.,AdamsBecker,S.,Cummins,M.,Estrada,V.,Freeman,A.,and

Ludgate,H. (2013).NMC Horizon Report: 2013 Higher Education Edition.

Austin,Texas:TheNewMediaConsortium.

The NMC Horizon Report: 2013 Higher Education Edition is made possible via a grant from HP.

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Cover Photograph

The Illinois MakerLab in the College of Business at the University of

Illinois (http://publish.illinois.edu/illinoismakerlab/). Photo courtesy of

CollegeofBusinessatILLINOIS.

InsideFront and Back Cover Photograph

TheEnergy.Environment.ExperientialLearningprojectattheUniversity

of Calgary (www.ucalgary.ca/eeel/). © Photo by Tom Arban. Image

CourtesyofPerkins+Will.

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The NMC Horizon Report: 2013 Higher Education Edition isacollaborationbetweentheNewMediaConsortiumandtheEDUCAUSELearningInitiative,anEDUCAUSEProgram.

elcome to the NMC Horizon Report, aseries of publications designed to helpeducation leaders, policy makers, andfaculty understand new and emergingtechnologies,andtheirpotentialimpacton

teaching, learning, and research.This specific volume,theNMC Horizon Report: 2013 Higher Education Edition,is framed specifically around the unique needs andcircumstances of higher education institutions, andlooksatthatlandscapewithagloballensoverthenextfiveyears.

The internationally recognized NMC Horizon Report series and regional NMC Technology Outlooks are partoftheNMCHorizonProject,acomprehensiveresearchventureestablishedin2002thatidentifiesanddescribesemergingtechnologieslikelytohavealargeimpactoverthe coming five years in education around the globe.Since 2005, this particular edition has been producedviaacollaborativeeffortwiththeEDUCAUSELearningInitiative,andexaminesemergingtechnologiesfortheirpotential impact on teaching, learning, and creativeinquirywithinthehighereducationenvironment.

Tocreatethereport,aninternationalbodyofexpertsineducation, technology,andotherfieldswasconvenedasanadvisoryboard.Thegroupengagedindiscussionsaroundasetofresearchquestionsintendedtosurfacesignificant trends and challenges and to identify awidearrayofpotentialtechnologiesforthereport.Thisdialogwasenrichedbyanextensiverangeofresources,currentresearch,andpracticethatdrewontheexpertiseof both the NMC community and the communities ofthemembersoftheadvisoryboard.Theseinteractionsamong the advisory board are the focus of the NMC Horizon Reportresearch,andthisreportdetailstheareasinwhichtheseexpertswereinstrongagreement.

The report opens with a discussion of the trends andchallenges identified by the advisory board as mostimportant for the next five years. The main sectionhighlights six promising technological areas and theirpractical, real-world applications in higher educationsettings. Each section is introduced with an overview

thatdefines the topic, followedbyadiscussionof theparticular relevance of the topic to teaching, learning,andcreative inquiry inhighereducation.Next,severalconcrete examples are provided that demonstratehowthetechnologyisbeingused.Finally,eachsectioncloseswithanannotatedlistofsuggestedreadingsthatexpandonthediscussioninthereport.

These resources, along with countless other helpfulprojectsandreadings,canallbefoundintheproject’sopen content database — the NMC Horizon ProjectNavigator (navigator.nmc.org). All the ephemera oftheNMC Horizon Report: 2013 Higher Education Edition,including the research data, the interim results, thetopicpreview,andthispublication,canbedownloadedforfreeontheNMCwebsite(nmc.org),aswellasiTunesU(go.nmc.org/itunes-u).

Each of the three global editions of the NMC Horizon Report—highereducation,K-12education,andmuseum

ExecutiveSummary

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WThe NMC Horizon Report: 2013 Higher Education Edition is framed specifically around the unique needs and circumstances of higher education institutions.

education — highlights six emerging technologies orpracticesthatarelikelytoentermainstreamuseintheirfocus sectors within three adoption horizons over thenext five years. Key trends and significant challengesthat will affect current practice over the same periodframethesediscussions.Over thecourseof justa few

weeks in the early winter of 2012, the advisory boardcame to a consensus about the six topics that appearhere intheNMC Horizon Report: 2013 Higher Education Edition. The examples and readings under each topicaremeanttoprovidepracticalmodelsaswellasaccessto more detailed information. The precise researchmethodology employed is detailed in the closingsectionofthisreport.

Technologies to Watch The six technologies featured in the NMC Horizon Report: 2013 Higher Education Edition are placed alongthreeadoptionhorizonsthatindicatelikelytimeframesfor their entrance into mainstream use for teaching,learning, and creative inquiry. The near-term horizonassumes the likelihood of entry into the mainstreamfor higher education institutions within the next 12months;themid-termhorizon,withintwotothreeyears;andthefar-term,withinfourtofiveyears.ItshouldbenotedattheoutsetthattheNMCHorizon Reportisnotapredictivetool.Itismeant,rather,tohighlightemergingtechnologieswithconsiderablepotential forourfocusareas of education and interpretation. Each of the sixisalreadythetargetofworkatanumberofinnovativeorganizations around the world, and the projects weshowcasehererevealthepromiseofawiderimpact.

Near-term horizonOnthenear-termhorizon —thatis,withinthenext12months— massively open online courses (MOOCs)andtablet computingwillseewidespreadadoptioninhighereducation.MOOCshavebecomeanincreasinglypopular

optionforonlinelearningthatoftenpromisefree,highqualityeducation,thoughmediaattentionsurroundingthiscategoryhaspromptedcriticstoexaminethemostprominentmodelsveryclosely.Tabletshaveproventobeasolidfitwithtoday’salways-connecteduniversitystudents,andtherecentexpansionofthetabletmarketis presenting them with a wide array of affordableoptions.

> Massively open online courseshavereceivedtheirfairshareofhypein2012,andareexpectedtogrowinnumberandinfluencewithinthenextyear.BignameprovidersincludingCoursera,edX,andUdacitycounthundreds of thousands of enrolled students, totalsthatwhenaddedtogetherillustratetheirpopularity.OneofthemostappealingpromisesofMOOCsisthatthey offer the possibility for continued, advancedlearning at zero cost, allowing students, life-longlearners,andprofessionalstoacquirenewskillsandimprovetheirknowledgeandemployability.MOOCshave enjoyed one of the fastest uptakes ever seenin higher education, with literally hundreds of newentrantsinthelastyear;criticsloudlywarnthatthereisaneedtoexaminethesenewapproachesthroughacriticallenstoensuretheyareeffectiveandevolvepastthetraditionallecture-stylepedagogies.

> Tablet computing has carved its own niche ineducationasaportableandalways-connectedfamilyof devices that can be used in almost any setting.EquippedwithWiFiandcellularnetworkconnectivity,high-resolutionscreens,andwithawealthofmobileappsavailable,tabletsareprovingtobepowerfultoolsforlearninginsideandoutsideoftheclassroom.Manyuniversitieshavealreadydesignedsoftwarefortabletsalongwithbestpracticeguidelinesforeducatorsandstudents.Withmoremajormanufacturersproducingtablets all the time, the competition in the tabletcomputingmarketisasignificantdriverofinnovation.Asthemarketmatures,studentsandinstitutionscanexpectarichandgrowingarrayoffeaturesfromthesesmalldevices.

Mid-term horizonThesecondadoptionhorizon,twotothreeyearsout,iswhereweexpect toseewidespreadadoptionsof two

NMC Horizon Report: 2013 Higher Education Edition4

Tablets are proving to be powerful tools for learning inside and outside of the classroom.

technologies that are experiencing growing interestwithin higher education: games and gamification, andthe further refinement of learning analytics. Games inhigher education aim to engage students, providingthemwithdigitallyenhancedscenariosthatchallengetheir understanding of new concepts in their field.The topic has been expanded this year to includegamification and how elements of game design areinformingcurricula.Learninganalyticsisaburgeoningbody of work rooted in the study of big data, whichaimstouseanalytictechniquescommoninbusinessesto gain insights about student behavior and learning.Informationderivedfromlearninganalyticscaninforminstructionalpractice in real time,aswellasaid in thedesignofcoursemanagementsystemsthatpersonalizeeducation.

> Games and gamification are two sides of thesame approach. Educational games immerse thestudent in the game, where content and curriculaare delivered or juxtaposed. Gamification aims toincorporate elements of games, such as levels andbadges (but also via quests and other strategies)into non-game activities. In gamified curricula,students can accumulate points or other rewardsby accepting different challenges, and often havemorefreedominchoosingwhatkindofassignmentsthey undertake to earn them. Badging or rankingsystems serve to recognize student achievements,and the transparency of student progress inspirescompetition that can drive more interest in thematerialamongstudents.

> Learning analytics is the field associated withdeciphering trends and patterns from educationalbig data, or huge sets of student-related data,to further the advancement of a personalized,supportive system of higher education. Preliminaryusesofstudentdataweredirectedtowardtargetingat-risklearnersinordertoimprovestudentretention.The widespread adoption of learning and coursemanagement systems has refined the outcomes oflearninganalyticstolookatstudentsmoreprecisely.Student-specificdatacannowbeusedtocustomizeonline course platforms and suggest resources tostudents in the same way that businesses tailor

advertisementsandofferstocustomers.Universitiesarealreadyemployinganalyticssoftwaretomaketheadvising process more efficient and accurate, whileresearchersaredevelopingmobilesoftwaretocoachstudents toward productive behaviors and habitsthatwillleadtotheirsuccess.

Far-term horizonOnthe far-termhorizon,setat four tofiveyearsawayfromwidespreadadoption,are3D printingandwearable technology.3Dprintingprovidesamoreaccessible,lessexpensive, desktop alternative to industrial forms ofrapidprototyping.Manyofthediscussionssurrounding3DprintersstemfromtheMakerculture,anenthusedcommunity of designers, programmers, and othersthat bring a do-it-yourself approach to science andengineering. Wearable technology, making its firstappearance in the NMC Horizon Report series, refersto the integration of devices and related electronicsinto clothing and accessories. A growing collection ofwearabletechnologyhasappearedinthemarketplace,and collectively hints at the potential for teachingand learning, thoughtherearenotyetmanyconcreteeducationexamples.

> 3D printing has become much more affordableand accessible in recent years in large part due totheeffortsofMakerBotIndustries.Foundedin2009,this company has promoted the idea of opennessby offering products that can be built by anyonewith minimal technical expertise. With MakerBotReplicators selling in the range of $1,500 to $3,000,it now only requires a small financial investment toown a 3D printer. Websites including Thingiverseoffersourcefilesthatanyonecanusetoprintobjectswithout original designs. In an educational context,3D printing is already implemented in a number ofresearchand labsettings.Overthenext fourtofiveyears,3Dprinterswillbeincreasinglyusedinthearts,design,manufacturing,andthesciencestocreate3Dmodelsthatillustratecomplexconceptsorilluminatenovelideas,designs,andevenchemicalandorganicmolecules.

> Wearable technology will increase in impact asenabling technologies, such as augmented reality

5ExecutiveSummary

andthinfilmdisplays,gaintractionintheconsumermarket. Bendable OLED displays can wrap aroundfurnitureandothercurvedsurfaces,whichmakes iteasy to imaginecomputingdevicesandaccessoriesthat meld with the human body. Perhaps the mostanticipatedwearabletechnologyisGoogle’s“Project

Glass,” augmented reality enabled glasses thatoperate via voice command, presenting the wearerwithaninformation-ladenviewoftheirsurroundings.Wearabledevicesarealsoprovingtobeeffectivetoolsfor researchbecausetheyusesensors totrackdata,such as vital signs, in real-time. Although wearabletechnologyisnotyetpervasiveinhighereducation,thecurrenthighlyfunctionalclothingandaccessoriesintheconsumerspaceshowgreatpromise.

Eachofthesetechnologiesisdescribedindetailinthemain body of the report, where a discussion of whatthe technology is and why it is relevant to teaching,learning, or creative inquiry can also be found. Ourresearch indicates that all six of these technologiesare already having a clear and immediate impact onpractices in higher education, and this report aims todocumentthatinasimpleandcompellingfashion.

Theadvisoryboardof51technologyexpertsspanned13countriesthisyear,andtheirnamesarelistedattheend of this report. Despite their diverse backgroundsandexperience,theyshareaconsensusviewthateachoftheprofiledtopicswillhaveasignificant impactonhigher education around the globe over the next fiveyears.Thekeytrendsdrivinginterestintheiradoption,

and the challenges institutions will need to address ifthetechnologiesaretoreachtheirpotential,alsoreflectthe advisory board’s perspective, and are the focus ofthenextsectionsoftheNMC Horizon Report: 2013 Higher Education Edition,whereeachisdetailedinthecontextofteaching,learning,andcreativeinquiry.

NMC Horizon Report: 2013 Higher Education Edition6

Student-specific data can now be used to customize online course platforms and suggest resources to students in the same way that businesses tailor advertisements and offers to customers.

he technologies featured in each edition of theNMC Horizon Report are embedded within acontemporarycontextthatreflectstherealitiesofourtime,bothinthesphereofhighereducationandintheworldatlarge.Toensurethiscontext

waswellunderstood,theadvisoryboardengagedinanextensivereviewofcurrentarticles,interviews,papers,and new research to identify and rank trends that arecurrently affecting teaching, learning, and creativeinquiryinhighereducation.Oncedetailed,theinitiallistofdozensoftrendswasthenrankedaccordingtohowsignificanteachwaslikelytobeforhighereducationinthenextfiveyears.Thehighestrankedofthosetrendshad significant agreement among the advisory boardmembers, who considered them to be key drivers ofeducationaltechnologyadoptionsfortheperiod2013through2018.Theyarelistedhereintheorderinwhichtheadvisoryboardrankedthem.

1 Openness — concepts like open content, open data, and open resources, along with notions

of transparency and easy access to data and information — is becoming a value. Asauthoritativesources lose their importance, there is need for morecuration and other forms of validation to generatemeaning in information and media.“Open” continuesits diffusion as a buzzword in education, and it isincreasingly important to understand the definition.Often mistakenly equated only with “free,” openeducation advocates are working towards a commonvisionthatdefines“open”as free,copyable, remixable,andwithoutanybarrierstoaccessorinteraction.

2 Massively open online courses are being widely explored as alternatives and supplements to

traditional university courses. Led by the successfulearly experiments of world-class institutions (like MITand Stanford), MOOCs have captured the imagination

of senior administrators and trustees like few othereducational innovations have. High profile offeringsarebeingassembledunderthebannerof institutionalefforts like edX, and large-scale collaborations likeCoursera and the Code Academy. As the ideas evolve,MOOCs are increasingly seen as a very intriguingalternative to credit-based instruction. The prospectofasinglecourseachievingenrollmentsinthetensofthousands is bringing serious conversations on topicslike micro-credit to the highest levels of institutionalleadership.

3 The workforce demands skills from college graduates that are more often acquired from

informal learning experiences than in universities. Informal learning generally refers to any learning thattakesplaceoutsideofaformalschoolsetting,butamorepracticaldefinitionmaybelearningthatisself-directedand aligns with the student’s own personal learninggoals. Employers have specific expectations for newhires, including communication and critical thinkingskills — talents that are often acquired or enhancedthrough informal learning. Online or other modernenvironments are trying to leverage both formal andinformal learning experiences by giving studentstraditionalassignments,suchastextbookreadingsandpaper writing, in addition to allowing for more open-ended, unstructured time where they are encouragedtoexperiment,play,andexploretopicsbasedontheirown motivations. This type of learning will becomeincreasingly important in learning environments of allkinds.

4 There is an increasing interest in using new sources of data for personalizing the learning

experience and for performance measurement. Aslearnersparticipateinonlineactivities,theyleaveacleartrail of analytics data that can be mined for insights.

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KeyTrends

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Learning analytics experiments and demonstrationprojects are currently examining ways to use data forenrichment. Dashboards filter this information so thatstudentprogresscanbemonitoredinrealtime.Asthefield of learning analytics matures, the hope is thatthis informationwillenablecontinual improvementoflearningoutcomes.

5 The role of educators continues to change due to the vast resources that are accessible to

students via the Internet. Institutions are now facedwithacriticalshiftasstudentsengageinmoreinformallearningoutsideoftheclassroom,andareusingalways-

connecteddevicestosurftheweb,downloadapps,andread articles. Educating learners on how to deciphercredibleresourcesandaggregatecontenthasbecomeimperative,andthereisaneedforuniversityeducatorstofulfillthepositionofcontentguide.TheemergenceofMOOCs,opencontent,andfreeonlineseminarsalsoraises the question of who is considered the expert.Educators are providing mentorship and connectingstudents with the most effective forums and tools tonavigatetheirareasofstudy.

6 Education paradigms are shifting to include online learning, hybrid learning, and

collaborative models. StudentsalreadyspendmuchoftheirfreetimeontheInternet,learningandexchangingnew information — often via their social networks.Institutions that embrace face-to-face/online hybridlearningmodelshavethepotentialtoleveragetheonlineskills learners have already developed independentof academia. Online learning environments can offerdifferentaffordancesthanphysicalcampuses,including

opportunities for increased collaboration whileequipping students with stronger digital skills. Hybridmodels,whendesignedandimplementedsuccessfully,enablestudentstotraveltocampusforsomeactivities,whileusingthenetworkforothers,takingadvantageofthebestofbothenvironments.

NMC Horizon Report: 2013 Higher Education Edition8

As authoritative sources lose their importance, there is need for more curation and other forms of validation to generate meaning in information and media.

nydiscussionoftechnologyadoptionmustalsoconsiderimportantconstraintsandchallenges.Theadvisoryboard drewdeeplyfromacarefulanalysis of current events, papers, articles,and similar sources, as well as from personal

experience, in detailing a long list of challengeshigher education institutions face in adopting anynew technology. Several important challenges areexplainedbelow,but itwasclearthatbehindthemallwas a pervasive sense that individual organizationalconstraints are likely the most important factors inany decision to adopt — or not to adopt — a giventechnology.

Even institutions that are eager to adopt newtechnologies may be critically constrained by thelack of necessary human resources and the financialwherewithal to realize their ideas. Still others arelocatedwithinbuildingsthatsimplywerenotdesignedto provide the radio frequency transparency thatwirelesstechnologiesrequire,andthusfindthemselvesshut out of many potential technology options.Whileacknowledging that local barriers to technologyadoptionsaremanyandsignificant,theadvisoryboardfocuseditsdiscussionsonchallengesthatarecommonto the higher education community as a whole. Thehighest ranked challenges they identified are listedhere, in the order in which the advisory board rankedthem.

1 Faculty training still does not acknowledge the fact that digital media literacy continues its rise

in importance as a key skill in every discipline and profession. Despite the widespread agreement onthe importance of digital media literacy, training inthe supporting skills and techniques is rare in teachereducation and non-existent in the preparation offaculty.Aslecturersandprofessorsbegintorealizethat

theyarelimitingtheirstudentsbynothelpingthemtodevelopandusedigitalmedialiteracyskillsacrossthecurriculum, the lack of formal training is being offsetthroughprofessionaldevelopmentorinformallearning,but we are far from seeing digital media literacy as a

norm. This challenge is exacerbated by the fact thatdigital literacy is less about tools and more aboutthinking,andthusskillsandstandardsbasedontoolsandplatformshaveproventobesomewhatephemeral.

2 The emergence of new scholarly forms of authoring, publishing, and researching outpace

sufficient and scalable modes of assessment. Traditionalapproaches toscholarlyevaluationsuchascitation-based metrics, for example, are often hard toapplytoresearchthatisdisseminatedorconductedviasocial media. New forms of peer review and approval,such as reader ratings, inclusion in and mention byinfluential blogs, tagging, incoming links, and re-tweeting, are arising from the natural actions of theglobal community of educators with increasinglyrelevant and interesting results. These forms ofscholarly corroboration are not yet well understoodbymainstreamfacultyandacademicdecisionmakers,creating a gap between what is possible and what isacceptable.

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Simply capitalizing on new technology is not enough; the new models must use these tools and services to engage students on a deeper level.

SignificantChallenges

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3 Too often it is education’s own processes and practices that limit broader uptake of new

technologies. Much resistance to change is simplycomfortwiththestatusquo,butinothercases,suchasin promotion and tenure reviews, experimentation orinnovativeapplicationsoftechnologiesareoftenseenas outside the role of researcher or scientist, and thusdiscouraged. Changing these processes will requiremajorshiftsinattitudesasmuchastheywillinpolicy.

4 The demand for personalized learning is not adequately supported by current technology

or practices. The increasing demand for educationthat is customized to each student’s unique needs isdriving the development of new technologies thatprovidemorelearnerchoiceandcontrolandallowfordifferentiatedinstruction.Ithasbecomeclearthatone-size-fits-all teachingmethodsareneithereffectivenoracceptable for today’s diverse students. Technologycan and should support individual choices aboutaccess to materials and expertise, amount and typeof educational content, and methods of teaching.Thebiggest barrier to personalized learning, however, isthat scientific, data-driven approaches to effectivelyfacilitate personalization have only recently begun toemerge; learning analytics, for example, is still in thevery nascent stage of implementation and adoptionwithinhighereducation.

5 New models of education are bringing unprecedented competition to the traditional

models of higher education. Across the board,institutionsarelookingforwaystoprovideahighqualityofserviceandmorelearningopportunities.MOOCsareattheforefrontofthesediscussions,enablingstudentstosupplementtheireducationandexperiencesatbrick-and-mortarinstitutionswithincreasinglyrich,andoftenfree,onlineofferings.As thesenewplatformsemerge,however,thereisaneedtofranklyevaluatethemodelsand determine how to best support collaboration,interaction,andassessmentatscale.Simplycapitalizingon new technology is not enough; the new modelsmustuse these toolsandservices toengagestudentsonadeeperlevel.

6 Most academics are not using new technologies for learning and teaching, nor for organizing

their own research. Many researchers have nothad training in basic digitally supported teachingtechniques, and most do not participate in the sortsofprofessionaldevelopmentopportunitiesthatwouldprovidethem.Thisisduetoseveralfactors,includingalackoftimeandalackofexpectationsthattheyshould.Many think a cultural shift will be required before weseewidespreaduseofmore innovativeorganizationaltechnology. Some educators are simply apprehensiveaboutworkingwithnewtechnologies,astheyfearthetoolsanddeviceshavebecomemoreofafocusthanthelearning.Adoptionofprogressivepedagogies,however,is often enabled through the exploration of emergingtechnologies, and thus a change in attitude amongacademicsisimperative.These trends and challenges are a reflection of theimpactoftechnologythatisoccurringinalmosteveryaspectofourlives.Theyareindicativeofthechangingnatureofthewaywecommunicate,accessinformation,connect with peers and colleagues, learn, and evensocialize. Taken together, they provided the advisoryboardaframethroughwhichtoconsiderthepotentialimpactsofnearly50emergingtechnologiesandrelatedpracticesthatwereanalyzedanddiscussedforpossibleinclusion in this edition of the NMC Horizon Report series. Six of those were chosen through successiveroundsof ranking; theyaredetailed in themainbodyofthereport.

NMC Horizon Report: 2013 Higher Education Edition10

past year, MOOCs have gained public awareness witha ferocity not seen in some time. World-renowneduniversities, including MIT (edX) and Stanford(Coursera), as well as innovative start-ups such asUdacity jumped into the marketplace with hugesplashes,andhavegarneredatremendousamountofattention — and imitation. Designed to provide highquality,onlinelearningatscaletopeopleregardlessoftheirlocationoreducationalbackground,MOOCshavebeenmetwithenthusiasmbecauseoftheirpotentialtoreach a previously unimaginable number of learners.The notion of thousands and even tens of thousandsofstudentsparticipatinginasinglecourse,workingattheirownpace, relyingon theirownstyleof learning,and assessing each other’s progress has changed thelandscapeofonlinelearning.

A number of respected thought leaders believe thatthe current manifestation of MOOCs has significantlydeviated from the initial premise outlined by GeorgeSiemens and Stephen Downes in 2008, when theypioneeredthefirstcoursesinCanada.TheyenvisionedMOOCsasecosystemsofconnectivism—apedagogyinwhichknowledgeisnotadestinationbutanongoingactivity, fueled by the relationships people build andthe deep discussions catalyzed within the MOOC.That model emphasizes knowledge production overconsumption, and new knowledge generated helpedtosustainandevolvetheMOOCenvironment.

DespitethesephilosophicaldistinctionsamongMOOCimplementations, one aspect that both early andcontemporary MOOCs have in common is that theyleverage a multitude of emerging pedagogies andtools, including blended learning, open educationalresources, and crowd-sourced interaction. ThetechnologiesthatenabletheworkflowofMOOCsvaryin different models, but the common thread is that

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hen Stephen Downes and George Siemens coined the term in 2008, massively open online courses (MOOCs) were conceptualized as the next evolution of networked learning. The essence of the

original MOOC concept was a web course that people could take from anywhere across the world, with potentially thousands of participants. The basis of this concept is an expansive and diverse set of content, contributed by a variety of experts, educators, and instructors in a specific field, and aggregated into a central repository, such as a web site. What made this content set especially unique is that it could be “remixed” — the materials were not necessarily designed to go together but became associated with each other through the MOOC. A key component of the original vision is that all course materials and the course itself were open source and free — with the door left open for a fee if a participant taking the course wanted university credit to be transcripted for the work. Since those early days, interest in MOOCs has evolved at an unprecedented pace, fueled by the attention given to high profile entrants like Coursera, Udacity, and edX in the popular press. In these new examples, “open” does not necessarily refer to open content or even open access, but only equates to “no charge.” Ultimately, many challenges remain to be resolved in supporting learning at scale. The most compelling aspect of the proliferation of MOOCs is that it is helping frame important discussions about online learning that simply could not have taken place before the advent of actual experiments in learning at scale.

Overview The term “massively open online course” was hardlya thought bubble during the discussions for the NMCHorizon Report: 2012 Higher Education Edition.Overthe

MassivelyOpenOnlineCoursesTime-to-Adoption Horizon: One Year or Less

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NMC Horizon Report: 2013 Higher Education Edition12

these sorts of tools are readily available and easy touse. MOOCs draw upon cloud-based services such asWikiSpaces, YouTube, and Google Hangouts, amongmany others, to foster discussions, create and sharevideos,andengageinalltheotheractivitiesthathavebecomeessentialtoteachingandlearninginamodernonlinelearningenvironment.

AlthoughtherearecleardifferencesamongthemajorMOOCprojects, it is importanttonotethattheirbasicpedagogicalapproachesareverysimilar.ForCoursera,edX, and Udacity — the three major players in theMOOCspace—coursematerialsarelocatedinahuborcentralrepositoryandtheyalluseautomatedsoftwareto assess student performance through quizzes andhomework assignments. The social structures of themajor MOOC projects are also similar, with studentsparticipatinginonlineforums,studygroups,andinthe

caseofCourseraandUdacity,organizedstudentmeet-ups. Content-wise, Coursera emphasizes video, withstudentswatchingrecordedlecturesfromfieldexpertsas the main substance of the courses. At the time ofpublication, Coursera had over two million studentsenrolled in 200 courses, while edX and Udacity havereached around 500,000 students, across 23 coursesand19courses,respectively.

Whileextremelypromising,currentMOOCmodelsstilllargely mirror traditional lecture formats. Coursera,for example, is centered around video lectures led byrenowned educators from prestigious universities inpopular areas such as microeconomics and artificialintelligence. Students watch these videos anddemonstrate what they have learned via quizzes andpapers. Although the quality of the video and relatedcontent provided is high, this delivery model is verymuch based in traditional models of instruction,and does not include the notions of openness and

connectivismoutlinedbySiemensandDownes.Indeed,thecontentoneachofthemajorsitesisnot“open,”aspervasivecopyrightnoticesmakeclear.

Asmassivelyopenonlinecoursescontinuetheirhigh-speed trajectory in the near-term horizon, there is agreatneedforreflectionthatincludesfrankdiscussionsabout what a sustainable, successful model looks like.Some experts believe that the pace at which MOOCsaredevelopingistoorapidforgenuineanalysis;othersmaintainthattheyarenotasdisruptiveofatechnologyas initially touted. Time will settle those questions,but there is no doubt that MOOCs have already hada significant influence on the future course of onlinelearning, and deserve close attention, study, andcontinuedexperimentation.

Relevance for Teaching, Learning, or Creative Inquiry“Free” has played a major role in the rise of massivelyopen online courses, though institutions arebrainstormingwaystomonetizethem,suchaschargingforspecialcertifications.Lastyear,theFederalReserveBank of New York reported that Americans owe over$900 billion in student loans, yet 40% of studentsenrolledatfour-yearuniversitiesdonotgettheirdegreein under six years. Furthermore, there is a growingchorus of students expressing frustration about whattheyareactuallygetting—andnotgetting—outofhighereducationfortheirmoney.

Inmanycurrentmodels,massivelyopenonlinecoursespresentopportunitiesforlearnerstofreelyexperimentwith a variety of subjects and acquire new skills thatmaynotbeassociatedwithadegreeplanatbrick-and-mortarinstitutions.AnEnglishmajor,forexample,couldenrollinanedXcourseonthefoundationsofcomputergraphics or circuits and electronics. In other words,learnersarenotstuckonasinglepathway.

Relatedadvancesinbothclassroomandonlinelearningareemphasizingpersonalizedlearning,andifmassivelyopenonlinecoursescouldbothscalegloballyandyetcater to individual learning styles, it would be a veryexciting combination. In their current forms, MOOCsalready allow learners of all ages, incomes, and levels

While extremely promising, current MOOC models still largely mirror traditional lecture formats.

13Time-to-AdoptionHorizon:OneYearorLess

of education to participate in a wide array of courseswithout being enrolled at a physical institution. Themost effective MOOCs make creative use of a varietyof educational strategies and frequently leveragemultimedia to demonstrate complex subjects. Onerecent entrant in Spain, unX, has integrated badgesasawaytoreward learners for theirparticipationandconceptmastery.

AsMOOCprojectsproliferate,thehopeisthattheywillinvent new innovative and informal ways for learnersto demonstrate their knowledge at scale. Peer reviewsystems, student gurus, badges, and other forms ofassessmentarecurrentlybeingexplored,butthereisnorealverdictyetonwhatismosteffective.Tocontinuetogain traction, MOOCs will need to strike a fine balancebetween automating the assessment process whiledeliveringpersonalized,authenticlearningopportunities.

A sampling of applications of massively open onlinecoursesacrossdisciplinesincludesthefollowing:

> Music. In the spring of 2013, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis and the PurdueUniversityDepartmentofMusicandArtsTechnologywillofferanewMOOC,“MusicfortheListener,”thatcanbeconvertedintocredit.Thesix-weekcoursecoversthemusicofwesterncivilizationfrom600ADtothepresent.Thelearningenvironmentisbeingdeliveredthrough Course Networking, with full translationfeatures, rich media, and social networking tools:go.nmc.org/thecn.

> Physics. A MOOC called “Landmarks in Physics”delivered through Udacity was created by an MITgraduate who filmed in Italy, the Netherlands, andEngland to create a virtual tour that explains thebasic concepts of physics at the sites of importantdiscoveriesinourhistory:go.nmc.org/phy.

> Writing and Composition. The Gates Foundationawarded a grant to Ohio State University to designa MOOC for Coursera. This course will engageparticipants as writers, reviewers, and editors in aseriesofinteractivereading,composing,andresearchactivities with assignments designed to help them

becomemoreeffectiveconsumersandproducersofalphabetic,visual,andmultimodaltexts.OSUfacultymembers have developed the Writers Exchange,an idea-networking website to support the course:go.nmc.org/osu.

Massively Open Online Courses in PracticeThefollowinglinksprovideexamplesofmassivelyopenonlinecoursesinuseinhighereducationsettings:

Caltech’s Learning from Datago.nmc.org/caltechThe California Institute of Technology piloted the“Learning from Data” MOOC in April 2012. The firstoffering included live streaming and real-time Q&Asessions with the participants, along with automatedgradinganddiscussionforums.Sincethen,ithasbeenofferedfourtimes,withover100,000enrolledstudents.

Games MOOCgo.nmc.org/gamesmoocThe Games MOOC is a community site woven arounda series of three courses about the use of games ineducation, including traditional games, massivelymultiplayer online role-playing games, game-basedlearning,andimmersiveenvironments.Thefirstcourseswerepilotedinthefallof2012.

Google’s Open Course Buildergo.nmc.org/googcoGoogle created an open course builder and its firstmassive open online course, “Power Searching withGoogle.”Itdrew150,000students,andhelpedsharpentheirInternetsearchskills.

Open Course for Educators (Career and Technical Education 230: Instructional Technology)go.nmc.org/opecouThisMaricopaCommunityColleges’coursestemsfromaNationalScienceFoundation-fundedprojecttoincreasetheabilityofSTEMteacherstocollaborativelylearnandapplySTEMskillsusinginformationandcommunicationtechnology.Participatingeducatorsacquireknowledgeand skills using Canvas and 3D Game Lab learningmanagementsystems,andGoogle+Community.

UMW’s Digital Storytelling 106go.nmc.org/ds106Anyone can take this online digital storytelling courseat University of Mary Washington (UMW), one of thefew that adhere to the original connectivist notion of amassiveonlinecourse,butonlystudents registeredatthe university can receive credit. For the past coupleyears,ithasalsobeentaughtatseveralotherinstitutions.UMWiscurrentlyexploringhowtogivecredittootherstatecollegestudentsaswellasincominghighschoolstudents.

unXgo.nmc.org/csevunxThe Centro Superior para la Enseñanza Virtual isencouraging MOOC enrollment to Latin Americancommunities through a Spanish platform called unX.The model includes many interactive features alongwithadigitalbadgingsystem.

For Further Reading Thefollowingarticlesandresourcesarerecommendedforthosewhowishtolearnmoreaboutmassivelyopenonlinecourses:

College Is Dead. Long Live College!go.nmc.org/ylazv(Amanda Ripley, TIME, 18 October 2012.) When thePakistanigovernmentshutdownaccesstoYouTubeinSeptember2012,an11-yearoldgirlconnectedwithU.S.students and found a solution to continue her onlinestudiesusingUdacity.

How ‘Open’ Are MOOCs?go.nmc.org/ope(Steve Kolowich, Inside Higher Ed, 8 November 2012.)This article explores several misunderstandings inthe way many chief academic officers view massivelyopenonlinecoursesandtheirpotentialtosupplementtraditionaluniversityclasses.

Jump Off the Coursera Bandwagongo.nmc.org/cou(Doug Guthrie, The Chronicle of Higher Education,17 December 2012.) This author observes that asuniversitiesrushtodeliveronlineeducation,theymay

betooquicktolaunchinsufficientmodels.Asaresult,many MOOCs are not addressing critical pedagogicalissues,inadditiontointeractivityandcustomization.

MOOCs and Moneygo.nmc.org/money(Matt Greenfield, Education Week, 1 October 2012.)MOOCshavesomepossiblemonetizingstrategiesthatcanworkaslongastheycontinuetoattractmillionsofstudents.Theauthorarguesthatmanycurrentstudentsare attracted to MOOCs out of curiosity, and ponderswhetherenrollmentnumberswillcontinuetobehighoverthenextfewyears.

The Single Most Important Experiment in Higher Educationgo.nmc.org/single(Jordan Weissmann, The Atlantic, 18 July 2012.) Thisarticle discusses Coursera’s new partnerships withseveralotheruniversities.Oneschool,theUniversityofWashington,isgivingcreditforitsCourseracourses.Thefunding from all these new universities will allow thecompanytoblossomasamarketforlearning.

xED Bookgo.nmc.org/xed(Dave Cormier, George Siemens, and Bonnie Stewart,Accessed 2 January 2013.) George Siemens and twoeducation researchers are writing a book that willdiscuss how the Internet is restructuring knowledgeand the implications for MOOCs. They are currentlychroniclingtheirideasonthissite.

The Year of the MOOCgo.nmc.org/moo(LauraPappano,The New York Times,2November2012.)Over the past year, MOOC development has becomeamajortrend.Thisarticleexaminesthecurrenthighereducation institutions and organizations offeringMOOCs,discussingtheirstrategiesandthechallengeseacharefacing.

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n the past two years, advances in tablets have captured the imagination of educators around the world. This category is led by the incredible success of the iPad, which at the time of publication had sold more than 85 million units and is predicted by

GigaOM to sell over 377 million units by 2016. Other similar devices such as the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, Kindle Fire, the Nook, Sony’s Tablet S, and the Microsoft Surface have also entered this rapidly growing market. In the process, the tablet (a device that does not require a mouse or keyboard) has come to be viewed as a new technology in its own right, one that blends features of laptops, smartphones, and earlier tablet computers with always-connected Internet and thousands of apps with which to personalize the experience. As these new devices have become more used and understood, it has become even clearer that they are independent and distinct from other mobile devices such as smartphones, e-readers, or tablet PCs. With significantly larger screens and richer gesture-based interfaces than their smartphone predecessors — and a growing and ever more competitive market — they are ideal tools for sharing content, videos, images, and presentations because they are easy for anyone to use, visually compelling, and highly portable. Tablets have gained traction in education because users can seamlessly load sets of apps and content of their choosing, making the tablet itself a portable personalized learning environment.

OverviewWhen the Apple iPad was released in 2010, a newcategory of mobile device was born, distinct fromsmartphones,ultra-small laptops,e-readers,andotherkinds of portable devices. Suddenly people had theability to download and read books, watch videos,learnforeignlanguages,andmuchmore—allthrougha large, high-resolution touchscreen that made the

experience convenient, vibrant, and shareable. Onthese always-connected devices, several people couldsitdowntogetherandeasilywatchthesamemovieandstudythesameimages.

Tabletcomputingcontinuestocapturetheimmediatefocusoftechnologyadopters,asithasforthepastyear.Intheearlymonthsof2012,thecategorywasnew,andthe focus was on the early entrant, the iPad, as therewerenoviablecompetitorsinthemarketplaceyet.Now

thetabletmarketisverydifferent,withawiderangeofsolidalternatives,operatingsystems,andformfactors,andthereisrealcompetitioninthemarketforthefirsttime.

According to a recent report from the web analyticsfirm, Chitika, Internet traffic from the iPad droppedover 7% in late December 2012 (go.nmc.org/chiki)fromitsshareof86%ofalltablettraffic.Thisdeclineisthe result of emergent new competitors in the tabletscene, including the Kindle Fire, Samsung Galaxy,GoogleNexus,andtheMicrosoftSurface—allofwhichenjoyed increasedwebtrafficsharesat theendof theyear. Nexus traffic saw a 135% increase in July 2012

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Tablets have gained traction in education because users can seamlessly load sets of apps and content of their choosing, making the tablet itself a portable personalized learning environment.

TabletComputingTime-to-Adoption Horizon: One Year or Less

I

alone.Consumersnowhaveagrowingarrayofchoicesinthetabletmarket,thoughtheiPadstillsetsthepaceforthecategory,andcontinuestoholditssolidpositionatthetop.

Mobileappscontinuetopushthecapabilitiesofthesedevices,andhundredsofthousandsofspecializedappsare available to extend the functionality of tablets,integrating features including location awareness,network connections, and other built-in sensors, suchas accelerometers.The larger screen real estate allowsfor more detailed interfaces or viewing area thansmartphones. Apps range from games to bankingservices that allow users to check their credit cardbalances to science and art apps that enable users to

exploreouterspace,theLouvre,andmanyotherplacesthat they may not ever get to see in person in theirlifetimes.Itisthistransformativenatureofappsthathashelped tablets become popular and powerful tools inhighereducation.

Extremely portable, tablets have become significantdistribution points for magazines and e-books, withmajor retailers including Amazon revealing that theire-books outperform their print books. In December2012,Newsweekended80yearsasaprintpublication,and went completely digital, largely as a result of thecompellingexperiencethattabletdevicesbringtothemagazineandperiodicalmarket.

Screen resolution in tablets improved significantly inthe last year, and ultra-high resolution displays suchas Apple’s Retina Display and Nexus’ high-resolutiondisplay are more common. As a result, any app usingrich media has benefited. High-definition video is thenorm,andvideoprovidershavesteppedupwithmyriad

ways to access live and archived video content. Real-time two-way video calls, pioneered with FaceTime,are now common. Cameras have added capabilities,sharper images, and higher resolution — and socialmedia enhancements have made sharing video andpictures very simple. Fast, easy email, web browsers,andrich,full-featuredgameplatformsarealleverydaytools on the new devices. It is increasingly clear thattablets are not a new kind of lightweight laptop, butratheracompletelynewtechnology.

Relevance for Teaching, Learning, or Creative InquiryThe rising popularity of tablets in higher educationis partly the product of campuses across the worldembracingtheBYOD(bringyourowndevice)movement.It is so easy for students to carry tablets from class toclass, using them to seamlessly access their textbooksandothercoursematerialsasneeded,thatschoolsanduniversitiesarerethinkingtheneedforcomputerlabs,orevenpersonallaptops.Astudent’schoiceofappsforhisorher tabletmakes iteasy tobuildapersonalizedlearningenvironment,withalltheresources,tools,andothermaterialstheyneedonasingledevice,andwithmost tablets, the Internet is woven into almost everyaspectofit.

Productivity apps, including Cheddar, TagMyDoc,Dropbox and many more (go.nmc.org/wiwip) enablelearnerstotakeandsharenotes,createto-dolists,storealloftheirfiles,andorganizetheiracademicschedules.The advent of services such as iBooks Author is alsohelping universities formulate strategies for textbooksand reading assignments. The Learning Studio atAbileneChristianUniversity, forexample,workedwithkeyfacultytodevelopprototypesoflearningresourcesiniBooksAuthor.Theprocesshelpedidentifystrategicopportunitiesinmulti-touchbooksasnext-generationtextbooks(go.nmc.org/aculs).

In higher education, it is now a bit of an anomaly forauniversity tobewithout itsownbrandedtabletappthat integrates features like campus maps, access togrades,universitynews,andmore.HavinganappintheiTunesandAndroidmarketplacehasbecomeessentialto the recruiting process, to better orient students

NMC Horizon Report: 2013 Higher Education Edition16

It is increasingly clear that tablets are not a new kind of lightweight laptop, but rather a completely new technology.

to their surroundings, and alert them to campusopportunities.Someuniversities,suchasMissouriState,have incorporated their iTunes U catalogs in the app,making it easy to download video lectures and othercourse materials on-the-go. As tablets face imminentwidespreadadoption,highereducationinstitutionsareequipping students with the skills to develop contentforthem.CarnegieMellonUniversity,forexample,nowoffersacourseontheartofiPadprogramming(go.nmc.org/icmu).

Mobile apps are also tightly integrated with socialnetworks,makingtabletseffectivetoolsforcollaboratingand sharing. Many note-taking and annotation appsenableuserstoimmediatelyemailcontenttopeersorpost insights to their social networks. Students whouseEvernote,forexample,cansharedigitalnotebooksandseeeachother’s text,picture,orvideoupdates inreal-time (go.nmc.org/ever). An increasing number ofeducators are also turning to Edmodo’s app (go.nmc.org/edmodo) to communicate with students aboutassignmentsandscheduleupdates.

Because of their portability, large display, andtouchscreen,tabletsarealsoidealdevicesforfieldwork.Many institutions are relying on handheld computersin place of cumbersome laboratory equipment, videoequipment,andvariousotherexpensivetoolsthatarenotnearlyasportableoras inexpensivetoreplace.Atthe College of Wooster in Ohio, geology students areusing iPads to take and annotate photos of Icelandicterrain(go.nmc.org/woost),andsimilarly,earthsciencestudentsatRedlandsCollegeinAustraliaareusingthemtocollectandsharedataonindigenousrocks(go.nmc.org/redla). Inthesescenarios,theimmediateaccesstorecordingandanalyticaltoolsenablesdirectandactivelearninginthefield.

In the past two years, more colleges and universitieshave launched one-to-one pilot programs in whichtheyhaveprovidedeverystudentoncampus(orthoseenrolled in a specific program) with their own tablet.Each tablet comes pre-loaded with course materials,digital textbooks, and other helpful resources. TheGeisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College, forexample,hasadoptedthistypeofprogramwithiPads

and issharingtheirfindingsandresourcesastheygo,viaaspecialwebsite(go.nmc.org/geisel).

Where one-to-one learning is not yet possible, manyinstitutions, including the Community College ofAurora in Colorado, the University of Richmond, andtheUniversityofSouthCarolina,havealsomadetabletsavailable via check-out systems to students who maynot have one, in which students can borrow tabletsto do coursework that is specifically designed to becompletedwiththedevices.

With their growing number of features, tablets givetraction to other educational technologies — fromfacilitatingthereal-timedataminingneededtosupportlearninganalyticstoofferingaplethoraofgame-basedlearning apps. Transitioning to tablets is relativelypainless forstudentsastheyalreadyusethemorverysimilar devices outside of the classroom to downloadapps, connect to their social networks, and surf theweb. To maximize the potential of tablets in highereducation,facultymembersarealsoexploringcreativewaystoincorporatethemintocoursework.

A sampling of tablet computing applications acrossdisciplinesincludesthefollowing:

> Art. At Plymouth University in the UK, studentsworking toward their Illustration degree are usingthe iPad and an illustration app called Brushes toproducedrawingsthatcanbeplayedbackasvideo.Thisactivityisencouragingreflectionanddiscussionon the drawing process and enabling students tocontrasttechniqueandhighlightandcorrectanybadhabits:go.nmc.org/ipa.

> Biology. In a pilot program at Yale University’sDepartmentofMolecular,Cellular,andDevelopmentalBiology, instructors are sharing images from theirdigital microscopes with students’ iPads through amobile app. By connecting microscope with tablet,students are able to annotate images and capturethemforfutureuse:go.nmc.org/yavis.

> Journalism and Mass Communications. ProfessorMessner at Virginia Commonwealth University

17Time-to-AdoptionHorizon:OneYearorLess

secured iPads for his students so they could createmultimedia news stories from happenings on thecampus and surrounding community. The studentslearnedtheimportanceofsocialmediainjournalismand found the iPad useful for gathering news andsources:go.nmc.org/jou.

> Special Needs. Vanderbilt University graduatestudentsaredesigninganAndroidappthatenablesvisuallyimpairedstudentstolearnmath.Usinghaptictechnologyintegratedintonewtouchscreendevices,thevibrationsandaudiofeedbackhelpstudentsfeelandhearshapesanddiagrams:go.nmc.org/hapt.

Tablet Computing in PracticeThe following links provide examples of tabletcomputinginuseinhighereducationsettings:

Chinese Language Classes Experiment with iPadsgo.nmc.org/chilangStudentsstudyingintroductoryChineseatNorthwesternUniversity are supplementing their course materialwith iPad apps, which are enabling them to look upword definitions and hear their own pronunciationsjuxtaposedwiththoseofnativespeakers,aswellashelpthemlearnhowtocorrectlywritecharactersbytracingtheorderofstrokesdirectlyonthedevice.

MobiLearngo.nmc.org/mobilearnAt HAMK University of Applied Sciences in Finlandeducators initiated the MobiLearn project to developcreative ways for integrating mobile devices into thecurriculum.TheyarecurrentlypilotingSamsungGalaxytablets and have cited that the devices work well forcreatingandsharingdocuments.

Samsung Galaxy Tablets at Lavington Primary Schoolgo.nmc.org/lavingtonSamsungispilotingaprogramcalled“SmartSchool”atLavingtonPrimarySchoolinAfricainwhichclassroomsareequippedwithGalaxyTablets.Sofar,teachershavenotedthatthedeviceshavemadelearningexperiencesmorepersonalizedandinteractive.

Seton Hall University and Samsung Windows 8 Tabletgo.nmc.org/epirSetonHallUniversityrecentlybecamethefirstuniversityin theUS toadoptWindows8PC tablets.Byhavingacombinationoftabletmobilitywiththefunctionalityofa computer, the university believes they are enablingquickeraccesstoinformation,deeperengagement,andgreaterflexibility.

Stanford University’s iPad Implementationgo.nmc.org/suinTheStanfordUniversitySchoolofMedicinedistributediPads to incoming students and studied their use inclassrooms and laboratories. They found the tabletswerefavoredoverlaptopsfornotetakingandespeciallyeffective in quickly accessing reference materials andeducatingpatientsinclinicalsettings.

Tablets at Amrita Universitygo.nmc.org/amritaAmritaUniversitystudentsandteachersareusinga$35tabletcalledAakash—a low-costalternativetoothermobile devices. Their ongoing research is focused ondevelopingresponsiveUI-basedcontentfortabletsthatintegrateswiththeirformativeassessmentprocessande-learningenvironments.

UWS Deploys iPads to Support IT-Enhanced Learninggo.nmc.org/uwsipTheUniversityofWesternSydney(UWS)announcedthat11,000incomingstudentsandstaffmemberswouldbereceiving iPadsaspartofacomprehensivecurriculumrenewalstrategy.UWSismovingtoablendedlearningenvironment for all degrees beginning in 2013 andbelieves tablets are an important tool to support thisnewlearningandteachingmodel.

For Further Reading The following articles and resources are recommendedforthosewhowishtolearnmoreabouttabletcomputing:

Given Tablets but No Teachers, Ethiopian Children Teach Themselvesgo.nmc.org/eth(David Talbot, Forbes, 29 October 2012.) Kids in tworemote Ethiopian villages responded with surprising

NMC Horizon Report: 2013 Higher Education Edition18

aptitudewhentabletcomputersweredroppedoff,allboxedup,withno instructionas tohowtheyworked.The children quickly taught themselves to use thedevices and were soon even hacking settings topersonalizethedevices.

Google Wages War with Apple and the Rest of the Tablet Industry, Unleashes Impressive Nexus 7+Mobilego.nmc.org/warapp(Drew Olanoff, TechCrunch, 13 November 2012.)The author of this article reviews the recent mobileupgrade of the Google tablet line from Nexus andclaims that Apple now has serious competition in thetabletmarket.Notabledifferencesarethedevice’svoicecommandfeature,GoogleNow,andadvancedmappingtechnologyofGoogleMaps.

How a Classroom of iPads Changed My Approach to Learninggo.nmc.org/redu(Chris Blundell, Edudemic, 3 October 2012.) One-to-one deployment of iPads at Redlands College hasabandoned the computing model of labs and laptoptrolleys, creating a paradigm shift where students canlearn anywhere and at anytime. The college’s IT staffreportedthatthisnewapproachhasbeensavingthemtimeandeffortmanagingsoftwarebecauseoftheeaseofinstallationandmaintenance.

Tablets are Changing the Tech You Use, Whether You Own One or Notgo.nmc.org/tabchan(Louie Herr, Digital Trends, 9 September 2012.) Theauthorof thisarticlearguesthatthereleaseof tabletsinto the market has disrupted software and hardwaretrends. He explains the decline of netbooks and flashandthesubsequentriseofHTML5andcloudstorageasthe indicators of how tablets are shaping the way weengagewithcomputertechnology.

Teaching with Tabletsgo.nmc.org/teachw(StaffWriters,Online Universities,21August2012.)Thisinfographicshowsthedistributionoftabletownershipacross multiple platforms, each device’s specific

features, and owners’ opinions of their effectivenessin educational settings. It further explains the tablet’srelevance for college students and quantifies Apple’scurrentimpactoneducation.

Why Tablets are the Future of Electronic Medical Recordsgo.nmc.org/emr(Richard MacManus, readwrite, 27 September 2012.)Tablets equipped with Electronic Medical Records(EMR) mobile applications are enabling more efficientinteractionsbetweenphysiciansandpatients.Thestudyof small to medium size practices, conducted by EMRvendor drchrono, found that over 60 minutes per dayweresavedusingiPad-equippedEMRs.

19Time-to-AdoptionHorizon:OneYearorLess